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| Gojira 1885th Post
 
Gold Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive
   
    
    
    
    
|  "Dragon Quest VIII" , posted Thu 8 Dec 09:44
Sure it's old news to those who went off on the Japanese version last year, but the game just came out in English a little over 2 weeks ago so I just wanted to stir up a little discussion.
What's really impressed me besides the silliness of the battles and status ailments (Yangus is dancing uncontrollably!) is how far you can see when exploring the world map. It's pretty cool when you see mountains way off in the distance and realize they're not just some background element; you can really go up to them at some point and climb them. And with all this you'd think there would be popup issues, but aside from a few rocks here and there nothing ever pops in and out.
The voices are all goofy and overacted with English accents, but the world is so loudly colorful they actually seem a perfect fit. BTW from what I hear, the original JP version didn't have voices? Or am I mistaken?
Since I'm such an AST whore (I have many DQ Syphonic Suites) I love the fully-arranged sountrack. I don't think I've ever heard a soundtrack so completely arranged; I've heard some that were half-arranged, or 20% arranged, but to hear it entirely like this is really nice. For me anyway. About the only bad thing I can say is that I can't imagine there being an AST for the game.
The story is probably the weakest point, but its simplicity is kind of a blessing since nobody ever does anything completely stupid or has complex emotional disorders. It's just "do that, and on to the next one". I'm about 15 hours in and while I don't find them the deepest band of folks, I can't really despise them either.
So yeah, in case you can't tell I like it a lot.
Just a small question for those who've played more in-depth: is the game non-linear to some degree? I've noticed in several spots that there were events I might have been able to skip since there was nothing keeping me from the following destination.
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| IkariDC 462th Post
Gold Customer
| "Re(1):Dragon Quest VIII" , posted Thu 8 Dec 10:28
quote:
Sure it's old news to those who went off on the Japanese version last year, but the game just came out in English a little over 2 weeks ago so I just wanted to stir up a little discussion.
What's really impressed me besides the silliness of the battles and status ailments (Yangus is dancing uncontrollably!) is how far you can see when exploring the world map. It's pretty cool when you see mountains way off in the distance and realize they're not just some background element; you can really go up to them at some point and climb them. And with all this you'd think there would be popup issues, but aside from a few rocks here and there nothing ever pops in and out.
The voices are all goofy and overacted with English accents, but the world is so loudly colorful they actually seem a perfect fit. BTW from what I hear, the original JP version didn't have voices? Or am I mistaken?
Since I'm such an AST whore (I have many DQ Syphonic Suites) I love the fully-arranged sountrack. I don't think I've ever heard a soundtrack so completely arranged; I've heard some that were half-arranged, or 20% arranged, but to hear it entirely like this is really nice. For me anyway. About the only bad thing I can say is that I can't imagine there being an AST for the game.
The story is probably the weakest point, but its simplicity is kind of a blessing since nobody ever does anything completely stupid or has complex emotional disorders. It's just "do that, and on to the next one". I'm about 15 hours in and while I don't find them the deepest band of folks, I can't really despise them either.
So yeah, in case you can't tell I like it a lot.
Just a small question for those who've played more in-depth: is the game non-linear to some degree? I've noticed in several spots that there were events I might have been able to skip since there was nothing keeping me from the following destination.
The japanese version didn't had voices, and the music wasn't arranged. I appreciate very much that they replaced the normal soundtrack by the Symphonic Suit version, and also, I kind of like the voices. As you say, they fit with the setting. They changed the mighty DQ submenu to a FF looking one, but I don't know if that's good or not.
Also, the package is great, a cardboard box containing the regular case and the game's manual in full color, and the case containing FF XII demo's full color mini manual.
I'll play this one when I finish with Ys The Ark of Napishtim, which I'm enjoying very much!
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| gorgeous
26th Post
Rare Customer
| "Re(2):Dragon Quest VIII" , posted Fri 9 Dec 17:22:
quote:
Also, the package is great, a cardboard box containing the regular case and the game's manual in full color, and the case containing FF XII demo's full color mini manual.
See, I don't like the package for the American version. This is probably because I've slept with the Japanese version in my bed for like a year now. That, and the text on the back of the cardboard box looks SO tacky. I mean, it's just centered, italicized Times New Roman. I appreciate that Bookman Old Style is the English font they use in the game, because it really fits the mood, and I even like the graphical interface, and I fuckin' LOVE the music.
It's just -- that BOX. Mine got crushed really easily. I mean, it's like half-empty. What they hell were they thinking? I mean, did they look at how nice the localizers made the menus with the concepts of LUCID DESIGN and GOOD TASTE, and say, "Well, we have to put some shitty CENTERED ITALICIZED TEXT" on the back. It just looks really hacky and poor. When everything else is so nice.
That, and they cropped Toriyama's amazing landscape out of the background of the cover art, as well as traced over all his brown lines, making them black. The Japanese version has such a softer, more fantastic look to it.
Wonderful game, though. I'll beat it in English once I beat Rogue Galaxy. If I ever do.
[this message was edited by gorgeous on Fri 9 Dec 17:23] |
| Gojira 1896th Post
Gold Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Executive
| "Re(7):Dragon Quest VIII" , posted Mon 12 Dec 08:50
quote:
Wow! Gojira, do you tend to finish your games pretty meticulously, which might make the time add up, or does it really take that long just for a casual play through? I've played a lot of RPG's, but I don't think I've ever taken that long on a game except for maybe Xenogears, so the length kind of terrifies me. I'd love to give DQVIII a spin sometime, but I don't know if I have the time for a game longer than 40 or so hours...
Well, part of it is that I'm pretty meticulous, but at the same time the game somewhat forces you to be that way. Have you played any DQ games before?
The world is huge for one thing. You don't get anything to speed up travelling for quite a while, outside of warping. And that only takes you back to places you've been before. Once you get the ship there's a lot of places to look around, but it's still pretty slow-going.
Also for a long time you don't have any means of resurrecting outside of visiting the church. And you can't save anywhere except the church either. Both of these combined with the fact your gold gets halved when you get wiped out will force you to be pretty careful in dungeons. I often find myself leaving dungeons before I reach the boss just so I can go stock up on better weapons and armor. No point in letting all the money go to waste because your equipment was too inadequate for the boss.
Maybe you can try to rush it, but even most normal battles can't be finished in one round. So yeah I'd say it's pretty general for the game's pace.
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